The warning takes effect from midday on Saturday (4 January) and will remain in place until 9 am on Monday (6 January). "Heavy snow may cause some disruption over the weekend," said the Met Office.
"There is a chance of travel delays on roads with some stranded vehicles and passengers, along with delayed or cancelled rail and air travel."
The warning covers the majority of England, with the exception of the farthest reaches of the South West (Cornwall and Devon), southern coastal areas and the east – Norfolk and Suffolk.
Northern Ireland is excluded in its entirety, as is much of Scotland, although the warning does cover Edinburgh, while nearby Glasgow and its airport are just outside the warning area.
Parts of the Midlands, Wales and northern England could experience upwards of 5cm of settled snow, and this could rise to 20-30cm in higher areas such as in Wales or on the Pennines. The Met is also forecasting strengthening winds, which "may lead to drifting of lying snow".
Later in the warning period, the concern becomes ice as milder air moves north, whereby snow showers could turn into spells of freezing rain – particularly in the south.
The coldest spells are likely to be on Saturday, when temperatures could fall to -1C or -2C. Temperatures are broadly expected to be around 5C below the early January average.
"Given the uncertainties, it is quite likely this warning area and start/end times will be refined over the coming days as confidence increases in areas most likely to be impacted," said the Met Office. Temperatures are poised to fall to around 0C or lower by the weekend.
It follows prolonged foggy weather over the Christmas and new year period, which affected flights in and out of several airports, including Manchester, Cardiff and, most notably, at Gatwick where dozens of flights were cancelled.
There was also flooding over the turn of year period in northwest England and Greater Manchester, prompting emergency services to declare a major incident, while new year’s celebrations in northern England and Scotland were called off owing to forecasts of high winds and heavy rain.
With the potential for disruption to air travel, AirportsUK pointed TTG towards individual airports for updates if the weather did bite at the weekend.
